Category Archives: Christmas

Having an assorted set of sketches is vital to creating your design and organize your portfolio.

Setting your images on paper gives your window clients an idea of what you have to offer them in design choices. By having a complete set of images set on paper you also have a way to demonstrate your talent.

Sketchbooks:

Pre-draw images to use in the holiday theme you are working with. Compile a sketchbook for each of the major holidays.

Detail the sketch for an idea of what the complete image will be when finished so you also have an idea of how you want the image to appear when you paint it. Create single sketch images out of elements you will use for the complete design. An example of Poinsettia and Candles design and Candy Cane w/ Bow is shown.

Like this:

For Holiday Art I recommend *Tempera Paint.

Tempera is non-toxic and as far as I believe it is biodegradable. Having a *Green* substance to work with is important in this day and age. Though there are other mediums to work with such as acrylic and lacquer, I have found the Tempera to be the easiest for me to adapt my art from. It is great for glass paintings because it sticks well and it is quite durable.

I use the student Tempera from Dick Blick Art Stores and have been happy with the results for years. The range of colors is wonderful and there are sets of primary colors available for just starting out. Yellow, Red, Blue, White, and Black are a good foundation. For ease of not having to mix tints and colors go ahead and get Green, Brown, and a few smaller bottles of whichever color strikes you for details and highlights. Buy large bottles of the White, Red, and Green because those are the ones you will get the most use of.

Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium (usually a glutinous material such as egg yolk or some other size). Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist. Egg tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil painting. A paint which is commonly called tempera (although it is not) consisting of pigment and glue size is commonly used and referred to by some manufacturers in America as poster paint.

Paintings I have done ages ago on private home window glass are still bright. The few colors with dark pigments do tend to fade if exposed to sunlight as most paints will disintegrate.

Applying Tempera is simple and the clean up is quick. It doesn’t have any harmful or vaporous chemicals in it and it can be removed with water and rags or in a razor scrape method where you strip out sections of the paint and wipe the scraps onto paper towels. This has been the easiest way to get the windows back after the holiday is over.

When I paint using Tempera Paint I can get either a cartoon fill effect or I can layer colors and achieve realistic style images. It depends on how I apply it and the brush I happen to use. You can use it thin or thick. I prefer it to have a consistency of gravy for the Holiday windows. Any thicker would have it cracking and chipping off. Thinly diluted Tempera can be used as a stain over other colors to mimic shadows or light effects as needed. Sprinkle in a little Holiday Magic and you have a very interesting piece of temporary art!

Cleaning up after doing holiday art is EXTREMELY important if you want to keep a client. I have lost accounts because I trusted a window cleaner to take care of that for me and they left a nasty mess behind. Paint splattered on windows, ledges, and sidewalks do not make a good impression.

When you go back next season you would rather them remember you for your artwork!

Welcome to My Christmas Paintbrush.

This blog is dedicated to my Holiday Window Painting business and the tips and tricks I learned in over 30 years of decorating window panes with tempera paint.

Santa Silhouette

I want to share my expertise with anyone seeking this information on window painting.
My art gets me call backs for decorating year after year. I enjoyed this hobby very much and hope to help you enough so that you can too!

With the season comes a ton of images you can paint and create unique decorations in paint for temporary seasonal displays. In time if you have the necessary talent and some drawing skills, painting on glass will become not only a great way to share your artistic side it can be a great part-time business.

Be creative and learn how to adapt any design into a special request by your clients. You should be ready and willing to draw and paint anything into a window design because you WILL get some unusual requests. I have drawn pets, Santa in all kinds of interesting scenes, and some odd designs over the years. Get creative. The more you can come up with the more business you will have. Be careful, though, once you get started you are going to be a very popular item of interest at Christmas time!

I personally cannot do faces very well. When it comes to a Santa I prefer to do something like the wreath above, “Santa’s Silhouette”. It gives you the feeling you would imagine for Santa’s Ride Christmas Eve on his gift-giving mission!

You will be able to design your own projects by using some of the hints and tricks I am going to share with you here. Eventually, you will have created your own portfolio with designs you will use year after year.